Solomon jolted awake. He blinked against the bright morning sunlight filtering through the dense forest canopy. Pavilion Master Yue stood directly in front of him, gently tapping his shoulder to wake him up.
A few paces away, Gideon, Sir Kulbro, and Commander Feng were already awake, efficiently loading their supplies onto the carriage and saddling the horses.
Solomon tried to stretch his arms, but his muscles completely locked up. He remained entirely frozen in place, leaning heavily against the crossguard of Eden’s Penance.
"What happened?" Yue asked, noticing his rigid posture. "Why are you not moving?"
"I cannot move my body," Solomon responded, his jaw barely functioning.
Yue snapped her jade fan open and frowned. "Were you cultivating your aura while standing in that exact stance all night?"
"I was getting incredibly bored just sitting around," Solomon muttered defensively.
Yue sighed and rubbed her temples. "There is a very specific reason why spiritual cultivation is traditionally performed while seated in the lotus position or kneeling comfortably on the ground. Maintaining a rigid physical stance while simultaneously draining your internal energy completely locks your muscles and pathways. You essentially paralyzed yourself."
[1Fizzy: AHAHAHA BRO TURNED INTO A STATUE!]
[James_hayes: Solo Man literally locked up.]
[Brerell: the consequences of his own actions.]
[Mezz_3863: cultivating while standing is insane.]
[M00N: bro needs a software reboot.]
"What exactly should I do now?" Solomon asked, his eyes darting toward the carriage. "Should I just force my aura through the pathways and try to move my limbs?"
"You could do that, but I strongly advise against it," Yue responded. "The reason you cannot move is likely because you completely exhausted your internal energy. Your newly opened cores and meridian pathways are entirely starving for spiritual nourishment. If you force a movement now, you might tear a muscle. You need to recover naturally and conserve whatever aura you have left."
"Then how am I supposed to move?" Solomon asked.
"You first need to let go of that massive sword," Yue instructed. "I will channel a burst of my own internal energy into your body to jump-start your pathways and force your muscles to unlock."
"I cannot even twitch my fingers right now," Solomon pointed out. "Someone else will have to pry my hands off the hilt and move the sword."
Yue reached forward. "I will do it."
"I absolutely would not recommend doing that," Solomon warned her immediately.
Yue paused. She turned toward the three men packing the carriage and asked for their assistance.
Commander Feng rushed forward instantly, eager to prove his worth and perhaps drop the heavy sword on the boy’s foot.
"Do not touch it, Feng," Solomon ordered sharply, narrowing his eyes. He looked past the commander. "Sir Gideon, you should be the one to move it."
Gideon nodded and stepped in front of the frozen teenager. The paladin carefully wrapped his armored gauntlets around Solomon’s stiff fingers, gently prying the boy’s hands away from the crossguard. The massive executioner’s sword now stood buried inches deep in the forest dirt, completely unsupported.
"It might sting a little bit," Solomon warned the older knight.
"It is perfectly fine," Gideon assured him. The paladin slowly moved his hands closer and firmly grabbed the pristine steel hilt.
The moment Gideon’s gauntlets made contact, a violent surge of blue lightning erupted from the divine metal.
Gideon let out a groan. Despite the intense magical rejection, the paladin gritted his teeth, hauled the heavy blade out of the dirt, and immediately placed it on the ground a few feet away.
Gideon looked down at his armored hand. The sheer electrical force had visibly scorched the metal plating of his gauntlet. If he had attempted to hold the hilt bare-handed, the divine rejection would have undoubtedly left deep, permanent burn scars across his flesh.
[Zoomtech: the sword respects absolutely no one.]
[Foodball: even a paladin gets shocked.]
[Tyler_Klare: Eden’s Penance is built different.]
[MattMickyD: Feng would have literally died if he touched it.]
Yue stepped behind Solomon and placed her palm flat against his back. "This might hurt a little bit as the foreign energy enters your system."
"Nothing can hurt me," Solomon chuckled, feeling entirely confident in his pain tolerance.
Yue channeled a thin stream of her green internal energy into his back. She slowly increased the flow, expecting him to react to the spiritual pressure. "Use my energy to jump-start your pathways. Mix my aura with your own."
"I am ready whenever you are," Solomon responded casually.
Yue blinked in confusion. She was already pouring a substantial amount of energy into his body, yet Solomon claimed he could not feel it at all.
She increased the flow further, pushing a denser wave of qi into his spine. Solomon still did not react. Frustrated, Yue placed both of her hands flat against his back and pushed a massive, concentrated burst of internal energy directly into his meridian network.
As her aura flooded his system, she finally realized exactly why her initial attempts had failed to register. She felt the distinct, pulsing cavities of two newly opened spiritual cores resting perfectly within his hips.
Yue stared at the back of his head in utter disbelief. She simply could not fathom how a teenager was able to comprehend the complex theory of core expansion and successfully execute the agonizing process when he had just started learning about qi circulation yesterday.
While her mind reeled from the shocking discovery, she lost her focus on her own output. She accidentally released significantly more aura than she intended.
A concussive blast of green spiritual energy erupted from her palms. The sheer force blasted Solomon entirely off his feet. He launched forward through the air and crashed violently into the thick trunk of a nearby oak tree.
[2Lazy2Care: AHAHAHA SHE SENT HIM FLYING!]
[Fatal_Beauty: THE ACCIDENTAL YEET!]
[Kaolafiedgamer: Solo Man getting blasted by the teacher again.]
[Frendscham: Yue just hit him with the force push.]
[GoonLord: DESERVED!]
Solomon dropped to the dirt, coughing up a mouthful of dust. The intense impact successfully shocked his muscles back into working order. He scrambled up to his boots, dusted off his gray academy uniform, and offered a bright smile.
"Thank you, Pavilion Master Yue," Solomon said genuinely, stretching his newly freed arms.
Yue stared at him, fully assuming he was angry and being sarcastic about the brutal wake-up call. However, Solomon simply picked up Eden’s Penance and strapped the heavy sword back across his chest, perfectly content with the results.
He walked over to the carriage. "Are we leaving now?"
"Having a cup of warm tea before we hit the road would be ideal," Gideon responded, adjusting the straps on his horse’s saddle. "We will depart immediately after that. Sir Kulbro and Commander Feng are already preparing the morning brew."
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